| Show SALT LAKE STAKE conference the semiannual semi annual conference of the salt lake stake of zion convened according to appointment in the tab er nacle salt lake cly city sunday march Is 1891 at 10 am on n the stand were president wilford woodruff and president george Q cannon of the first presidency and apostle AHO AH Cannon annon president angus M cannon and counselor charles W penrose of the stake presidency a and others president angus M cannon presided the choir and congregation sang the hymn commencing now let us rejoice in the day of salvation no longer as strangers angera on earth need we room roam prayer by bishop elias morris the choir and congregation sang ang I 1 how firm a foundation ye saints of the lord la Is laid for your faith in his excellent word BISHOP ORSON F was called boon to report the geneta condition of the eighteenth ward of this city he had been ordained and set spa apart to p preside 0 over e that ward in july 1878 at that time the ward was waa nume numerically ily small since then it has increased not only in numbers but also in faith and good works not that 1 I said the speaker take any credit for this because I 1 am aware of my own weakness but I 1 have had good counselors and have found good men willing to work residing in the ward thus I 1 have beed sustained in my endeavors to be a bishop we are not a perfect people but are striving as god gives us strength to improve and I 1 believe we are gaining headway a fact of which there are several proofs one is that many who were formerly indifferent have now put their armor on and are trying to pro progress grees it may be well to say a word as to how this has been brought about my experience has been that it is no good to belabor from the pulpit those who are absent these must be found where they areas are as our savior did when he be went into public houses and similar places to call sinners to repentance pen tance we have not had to go to saloons to find absentees but we have found it necessary to seek them in their homes and to plead with them showing them the consequences of betag absent and asking them kindly to come and mingle with the faithful this has bw had the desired effect and many of those who were formerly indifferent are now regular attendants growing in knowledge and grace taking part in the various organizations of the ward and responding to every call made upon them these are times of much sickness people are prostrate on every hand and there are hardly enough people well to visit and comfort the sick A few are laboring day and night in this work wearing themselves out while others have very little to do gom something ething should be done to stir up the elders to a realization of their duties that the few should not be overworked the tithing records show a great grat increase as compared to former years the total for this year being about this is owing not entirely to an increase in numbers but also to an increase of zeal on the of the the sunday school is in a good condition as are our mutual improvement associations although we could wish to see them in still better condition the teachers are doing very well in visiting the people and reporting to the the poor are cared for speedily the speaker pointed out that there was in the church no need for anybody to suffer buffer for the priesthood was so BO organized that everything could be attended to in such a way as la Is calculated to do most good he also dwelt upon the necessity for those who feel that they should work for the re lief of the poor not to be a law unto themselves in this matter but to work in harmony with the bishopric in order that all assistance might be rendered there where it is necessary and not in an injudicious way 1 instances n had been noticed by the speak er where poor persons esons had through false representations endeavored to get temporary assist assistance anee such should not be encouraged ELDER DAVID F DAVIS DA VIS a home missionary stated that he had been laboring in this capacity for several years and be could say that he had during this time noticed improvement among the people particularly the young there was a growing desire to become acquainted with the principles of the gospel and to penetrate them philosophically the rising generation want something that will appeal to their understanding and as they get et this they become interested and tt ft results tin in good BISHOP ELIAS MORRIS representing the high priests quorum of the stake reported that the quorum had bad regular meetings and a full attend ance the presidency of the stake very often meet with us and we feel thankful for this because we gather to be instructed lour duties lately we have adopted the plan to select beforehand b Tore hand a speaker to make the opening remarks and this has proved very interesting the speaker extended an invitation to the brethren 0 any quorum and others to attend the meetings of the hiu hisch h priests where they would have opportunity of listening to valuable instructions ELDER THOMAS 0 GRIGGS spoke about school work the interests of the schools are represented atthe at the monthly meet gsand these areo abreo such a nature as to create and main tain the interest in this work statistical data of much value have lately been obtained and the work is chown to be in a good condition gelle generally rally the minds of the young are susceptible of instruction and the good work done in the schools is more particularly seen when the boys have grown up and are called upon to go out on missions COUNSELOR CHARLES iES wa W PENROSE was the next speaker he had been much interested in listening to the reports already made and ine he was now asked to say a few words about the stake in general the salt gait lake stake of zion is a stake there being 44 wards some of which are very large and containing many people it takes a good deal of time to look after them all I 1 have sometimes thought that it would be benefi clent if the brethren of the presidency could spend their whole time laboring for the interest of the people we spend however the time we can and make visits as often as possible the authorities and the various officers of the wards are annually placed I 1 la cod before the people and they are fu in nearly every instance sustained unanimously there are only very few who are dissatisfied and when these state the reasons for their factionist faction it to is seldom real ground to is found to exist it is better however to speak out frankly when fault is found than to harbor ill feeling or spread discontent in private private the bishops are alive ani an I 1 diligent spending a great deal of their time among the people they are expected to be on hand band on all public occasions and their labors are very onerous the visiting priests and teachers have been stirred up lately and there is 10 much improvement manifested among them although there is room for more much instruction now given from the pulpits should in my judgment be given in private when apy member of the church begins to go astray or become negligent the visiting c niceas should seek after him in private the home missionaries are very diligent in their work they visit the wards regularly and have a monthly montha meeting for their tb belr own edification anti and instruction and for the presentation of the condition of the people their visits to the wards are much appreciated the priesthood meetings which are held once a month are better atten attended deJ than formerly the assembly hall was well filled at the last meeting everyone in the stake who holds the priest hood should endeavor to be present at these meetings the high council meets whenever called together it used to meet once and sometimes twice a week but lately difficulties have been settled among the people or before the bishops courts this council consists of good men who are capable of forming their own opinions who speak their minds freely and who have the welfare of the people at heart the chief difficulties among the people are those relating to temporal matters I 1 hope the time will come when the saints sainto will not disagree upon such trifles in the cases which have come before the council the decisions e of the IRI bishops have as a rule been sustained the high council of this stake as of all the stakes is composed of twelve high priests sustained by the body in conference the president of the stake presides or in his absence his big counselors or either of them in addition to these twelve we have alternates who are called upon to take the place of those who may be absent these men sit together and when a case comes up on appeal they decide whether it shall be taken up as a new ease case or be acted upon from the evidence already given before the bishop bishops Bi a court each of the parties has a right to be heard generally two members of the council speak for the accuser and two for the accused but half the council watch the case for the accuser and half for the accused when the witnesses have given their testimony the speakers ap appointed anted present the case on el ei her side the the accused and the accuser can then speak the president of the council gives the decision and if the majority concurs with him it is the decision of the council the decision 3 of the president have always been sustained since I 1 have been associated socia ted with him in the high council the power of the high council is not used used to inflict any penalty except the cutting off from the church a member who will not repent of his sins sing and comply with the decision in his ewe case mercy is always extended compatible with the claims of justice this council is not a court in a secular sense of the term and does not attempt to interfere with any judicial body of the country as some have erroneously supposed it has no power whatever except in an ecclesiastical capacity it isa is a church court with 11 jurisdiction only in church matters it is the tea teaching of the church that brother shall not go to law with brother bro theras as this is often both expensive and unsatisfactory and contrary to the spirit of the gospel yet members have their liberty but as I 1 said the church counsels them to avoid all quarrels and to rather suffer wrong than to do wrong this council is a therefore not a civil judicial court but purely an eccle ecclesiastical als organization the saints in this stake as a whole are trying to do their duty and are a good faithful people some ar ard ara a rather indifferent and this to is probably the greatest fault among the people they have had bad the privilege of receiving many of the ordinances of the gospel and they feel satisfied think ink their calling and election sure and they become inactive now we should remember that we have many duties to perform and that all blessi blessings are conditioned on obedience to the word and will of god ordinances and ceremonies are but means to an end which wh ichla ls the building up of character when weighed in the balances we shall appear and be valued devalued for what we are am not what we seem to be the president Jent of the stake is animated by a sincere sinecure desire to do good to the people he labors diligently to this end and he is sustained by his counselors may god bless this stake of zion and enable us all to do our duty that we may gain the great reward the meeting closed by the choir singing the anthem praise ye the father prayer was tottered by bishop F keeler adjourned till 2 pm afternoon session conference again convened at 2 the choir sang the hymn how are thy servants blest 0 lord how bow sure is their defense I 1 prayer by counselor joseph E tay lor the choir and congregation sang gang praise to the man who communed with jehovah jesus that prophet and seer beer the priesthood of the thirteenth ward officiated in the administration of the lords supper JOHN MORGAN addressed the congregation he said substantially we have met for the purpose of worshipping shipping wor god and to partake of the emblems of the body and blood of christ who came in the meridian of time to give eve his life for the salvation of the world these are great blessings of which few people are permitted to partake we have notwithstanding all trials much for which V to be thanh thankful ful for there are no peo people p ae on the earth who are spiritually so inac much b messed as the latter day saints sainte are we can look forward toward a time when the earth shall be redeemed sud and peace and righteousness prevail among men our principles are not new scarcely one doctrine that we have Is peculiar to us even if the world does not understand those principles as we do our peculiarity is not in any now new doctrines as truth always alwag a existed and is unchangeable we have our ideas of religious matters and they have theirs hub they do not agree among themselves we are a united people so much so that the world observes it and wants to know what is the cause of our union now this unity is natural on the basis of self I 1 preservation we have had so much adversity that we naturally flock together but besides this there is the influence of or the holy spirit which tends to harmonize he guides us into all truth and thereby makes us one even as the father and the son are one this is the true secret of our union and is in accordance with the plan announced by our lord when he said unless ye are one ye are not mine there to is no compulsion in these matters nor to is there anything strange about this oneness elders who have traveled with the gospel message abroad will remember that people as soon as they have received the gos gospel pel obtain a desire to gather and unite with the saints and this spirit does not come from man but from god the speaker concluded with a powerful testimony to the truth of the gospel APOSTLE ABRAHAM CANNON aid there was perhaps no greater peculiarity culi eUl arity larity of the saints than this that 47 the they W bel believe levein in continuous revelation and that entry elder who in the strict itne of his hia duty rose before a congregation became a revelator for he els Is com commanded ma n ded not to speak except 48 a guided by the spirit of god when he so go speaks me his words become scripture to the people this is the cause of our progress while we acknowledge ae the scriptures as far as they are tra translated ns correctly to be the word of god and ud while we receive the book of morion ion and other books as divine works we ke depend more especially upon the revelations given to us and suited to our peculiar circumstances mad and want it is however not possible for god to contradict himself aimse f even en if sometimes sometime sone one counsel from RIM him seems to be contradictory to former counsels when we fully full understand all it will be found that Y each new revelation Is but a step on the same eternal road of progress pro giess which shall ultimately lead to celestial glory it is not necessary that president woodruff should be in person in all the berdo wards to proclaim the word of god bach ach presidium presiding officer should receive the word of the lord continually to those over whom he presides and the people should sustain these men that they may have the spirit of truth to give necessary advice and instructions st at all times but these men have not the privilege of receiving revelations to the church because this to is given to him whom god has chosen as his lamouth mouthpiece piece by disregarding the counsel of these men we are in danger of losing the guidance of the spirit and sometimes this is the result of the sins bing of a few individuals as was the case with ancient israel in some in stances aces every sin should therefore be put away before it becomes a stumbling block to the whole people when the book of mormon was translated it was said that there were many stany things not yet revealed but these things |
